Financial Fraud Investigations

As businesses grow and their operations become more complex, opportunities arise for employees and others involved in the business to exploit its vulnerabilities for personal gain. Fraud attacks can be mounted by employees motivated by worsening personal circumstances, especially if the employee concerned has external assistance or is a key figure in the company’s operations. The dangers of financial fraud within a business are very real and cannot be underestimated, even by smaller businesses – particularly those relying on outsourced services and contract staff.

What is financial fraud?

Financial fraud is a white-collar crime type involving perpetrators creating fraudulent financial transactions for personal gain.

Financial fraud can assume many forms; some examples include credit card fraud, insider dealing, fraudulent transactions, Ponzi schemes, tax evasion, investment scams, and manipulation of accounts, to name but a few. Although there is no single model for how financial criminals work, financial fraud perpetrators only have a sole objective, which is to explore a company’s vulnerabilities to achieve personal enrichment through deception and false pretences.

Factors contributing to the rise of financial fraud also vary; they can include:

• Performance pressure – management are tempted to enter riskier markets and engage in fraudulent activities to make a quick gain.
• Globalisation – the more global a company becomes, the greater the chance of poor communication and controls, leading to a lack of staff vigilance against financial fraud.
• Greed – personal greed is the primary motivator for executives and employees to commit financial fraud like embezzlement.
• Use of technology – the internet and the use of technology have undoubtedly shaped how financial transactions are conducted and recorded. While they allow us to be more efficient, they are not fraud-proof and their vulnerabilities put companies at risk.
• Lack of security – companies may not have the most appropriate security measures to protect themselves.
• The rise of the dark web – the dark web, or the internet black market, makes it easier for fraudsters and cyber criminals to hide a multitude of sins, anything from buying and selling of credit card data to laundering of illicit funds.

Financial fraud: not if, but when

Financial fraud does not discriminate with respect to industry or business size. It happens to almost every denomination of business and finance.

The impacts of financial fraud are real and devastating. Fraud gnaws away at operating capital and profits, leaving companies cash-strapped, unable to pay their bills and may even become insolvent. Fraud can also breakdown relationships among company shareholders and directors, especially when someone holding a position of power and trust commits fraud.

To combat financial fraud, vigilance has to be constant and prevention is key. Promoting a strong corporate anti-fraud culture, establishing tight internal controls, using external audits, training your staff, and rewarding whistle-blowers are effective steps that you can use to reduce the risks of financial fraud.

Financial fraud investigators at Blackhawk Intelligence

Financial fraud can often start with nothing more than a bad feeling about a chain of events within your company – something does not quite add up. Or, you have discovered some evidence to support fraud being committed against you and you need an independent, discreet and professional specialist to put the pieces together and build a case. In either case, it is time to give the financial fraud investigators at Blackhawk Intelligence a call on +44 (0)20 8108 9317.

At Blackhawk Intelligence, our financial fraud investigators have a proven track record of using specialist methods for capturing, preserving, extracting and analysing your company’s lost or hidden data, as well as protecting its admissibility in court.

Our structured approach to financial fraud investigations can be summarised as follows:

• Identifying – we find out what exactly has taken place.
• Capturing – if a crime has been committed, our forensic accountants will develop a method to capture the evidence of financial fraud.
• Presenting – the captured data must be consolidated and formatted in a way that is presentable to the courts.
• Preserving – our forensic accountants ensure that all data collected are legally obtained and preserved.
• Analysing – our team extracts and analyses the data in greater depth with the aim to identify the perpetrators.

Located in London offering investigation services within the UK and beyond, Blackhawk Intelligence investigates financial fraud and recovers assets worth millions of pounds for clients worldwide. Call +44 (0)20 8108 9317 and speak to a member of the private or corporate fraud investigations team at our office in London today to discuss your situation in confidence.